Marionette construction



Ta -H April 16, 1957 H. H. ROLLINS MARIONETTE CONSTRUCTION Originai Filed Jan. 25. 1950 INVEN TOR. //0ze//e Rod/ms A TTOR NE Y.

United States Patent U 2,788,609 MARIGNETTE QONSTRUCTIGN Hazelle H. Rollins, Kansas City, 1110., assignor to Hazelle, Inc., Kansas City, Md, a corporation of Missouri )riginal application January 23, 1950, Serial No. 140,022, now Patent No. 267,499, dated November 3, 1953: Divided and this application September 21, 1953, Se rial No. 381,251

1 Claim. (Cl. 46-126) This invention relates to improvements in toys in the nature of puppets or marionettes, the primary object being to provide certain joint construction in the toy for producing a more life-like, animated effect than is possible in the control of conventional articles of this character.

It is the most important object of the present invention to provide a marionette toy of the kind disclosed in my U. S. Letters Patent No. 2,113,839 of April 12, 1938, and issued in the name of Hazelle H. Hedges, and including improvements in the head and face of the toy so as to render the same more life-like when controlled in the manner described by said patent.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a puppet-like toy having a head that is provided with a lower jaw swingable to and from a closed position and having controls connected therewith for actuating the same.

This is a division of my co-pending application, Serial No. 140,022, filed January 23, 1950, now U. S. Patent No. 2,657,499.

More minor objects will become apparent as the following specification progresses, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure l is a front perspective view of marionette construction made in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a substantially central, vertical, cross-sectional view through the head per se of the marionette; and

Fig. 3 is an inside perspective view of the front half of the head.

With the exception of the improvements about to be described, the marionette toy shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing and broadly designated by the numeral 10, is of much the same construction as that disclosed in my aforesaid patent, and it is contemplated that the same be controlled in similar fashion.

A head 12 is provided with a neck portion 14, having an elongated slot 16 in the base thereof and serving as a means of mounting head 12 upon the body of marionette 1% to permit flexibility in much the same manner as provided for in my patent. A screw eye 18 is disposed within the slot 16 and is held against rotation with respect to head 12 by a pair of ribs 20 on the innermost face of neck portion 14.

Head 12 includes a back section 22 and a front section 2 1 formed as illustrated and in such manner as to simulate a human head. A mouth opening 26 is provided in section 24 immediately below the uppermost lip 28 for receiving a swingable unit 34) that includes a lower lie 32, a chin 34 and a portion 36 that merges with and completes the neck section 14. An inwardly extending flat plate 38 integral with unit 30, simulates a tongue and is secured at its innermost end rigidly to a hub 46 formed on a shaft 42 intermediate the ends of the latter.

An arcuate, inwardly and upwardly extending arm 44 also integral with the hub 40, projects therefrom in diametrically opposed relationship to the plate 38. Shaft 42 is mounted for free rotation within a pair of opposed bosses 46 and 48 formed on the innermost face of head 12.

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it is noted that the shaft 42 extends across the head 12 in the same plane as plate 38 when the latter is in the closed position shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing. A spring Eitl is coiled about the shaft 42 on each side of the hub 40 and extends in a loop 52 below plate 38 and in a second loop 54 that bears against the innermost face of section 24 above plate 38.

A small opening 56 formed in head 12 at the top thereof directly above slot 16, receives a control cord '58 that has one end thereof secured to head 60 formed on the outermost free end of arm 44.

It is seen that the spring 50 holds the unit 30 normally biased in the closed position shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing and that pulling of the control cord 58, swings the arm 44 to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 2. Such actuation of arm 44 rotates shaft 42 to swing plate 38 and unit .30 to an open position, also illustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 2 of the drawing.

Marionette 10 is also provided with a. pair of legs 62 that are jointed in much the same manner as described by my patent aforesaid. Each leg 62 is provided with a shoe 64 having a top wall that is in turn provided with a threaded shank 72 that extends into the lowermost end of leg 62.

it is seen from the foregoing that the improvements hereinabove set forth, when taken in combination with the novel features of my prior patent, present a metricnette toy that is highly maneuverable and capable of being controlled to perform in a manner not heretofore made possible through conventional constructions. Such changes and modifications that fairly come within the scope of the appended claim, are therefore, contemplated hereby.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

In a marionette, a hollow head having a top portion provided with an opening therethrough, an uppermost lip, an integrally attached neck section and a mouth opening between the lip and the neck section; a swingable unit within the opening and including a lower lip, 21 chin, a neck portion and a flat plate presenting a tongue projecting inwardly from the lower lip'into the head; a fixed shaft mounted transversely of the head therewithin, said shaft being within the horizontal plane of the tongue when the unit is in a closed position and disposed on a vertical center line between said opening and the neck section; a hub on said tongue at the innermost end thereof, said hub being provided with an opening receiving said shaft, said unit being swingable about the axis of the shaft for movement of said unit exteriorly of the head toward and away from the uppermost lip; an elongated, relatively light spring coiled about said shaft intermediate the ends of the shaft, said spring bearing at one end thereof against the head at the front of the latter and at its opposite end against the tongue therebeneath for yieldably holding the unit biased in said closed position; an arcuate arm integrally attached to and extending rearwardly and upwardly from the hub in opposed relationship to the tongue, terminating above the tongue near the back of the head; and a flexible cord extending from externally of the head through said opening into the head and tied to the uppermost terminal end of the arm for swinging the unit away from said closed position against the bias of said spring.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 226,831 Bowen Apr. 27, 1880 1,324,730 Cohen et a1. Dec. 9, 1919 2,114,851 McCowen Apr. 19, 1938 2,202,677 Usinskis May 28, 1940 2,519,884 Bustanoby Aug. 22, 1950 

